White Wishes
by enchantedfirefly
Summary: Miyano Aria and Shiraishi Kuranosuke are childhood friends. When Aria transferred to Seigaku during middle school, she realized that she likes Shiraishi. After hearing that Shiraishi broke up with his girlfriend, Aria decided to come over to Osaka in order to cheer him up especially when Christmas is coming soon. Now, will she able to do it just before Christmas? ShiraishixOC
1. Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.**

Hi guys, I know there are still a few months to go before Christmas but then I made this last Christmas 2015 still please enjoy reading. This fic was inspired by the song White Wishes by 9nine and I don't own the song as well.

* * *

" _ **White Wishes"**_

 _On a winter afternoon in Osaka, in a nursery school called Himawari, a 4-year old new transferee girl was being bullied by her classmates. They always waited for the timing when their teacher will go back to the office and make it a chance to do bad things to her._

 _"Crybaby! Crybaby!" they all chanted as the hazelnut-haired girl cried because one of the boys took her star clip from her hair._

 _"Give that back!" the girl tried to reach her clip from her classmate's grasp._

 _"No way, crybaby!" he put his hand with the clip behind him while they all laughed together._

 _Then suddenly, someone took the clip from the boy's hand._

 _"Hey!"_

 _"You guys, I'm really going tell the teacher what you have been doing to her if you wouldn't stop," a boy with silvery-brown hair stood in front of the bullied girl facing the_

 _"You're such a killjoy," the boy who took the clip said._

 _"It's not fun anymore," another boy said._

 _They all walked away and did their own things, playing with each other or playing with toys._

 _"Are you okay? Here," the silvery-brown haired boy handed the star clip to the new transferee girl._

 _"Arigatou gozaimasu," the girl uttered as she got her clip back._

 _"Where are you from?" the boy asked._

 _"T-Tokyo."_

 _"Heee, Tokyo, huh? Why did you transfer here?"_

 _"Because of my father's work."_

 _"I am Shiraishi Kuranosuke. What should I call you?"_

 _"Mi-Miyano Aria."_

 _"Let's get along well, okay?" he smiled at her so wide that she blushed._

* * *

KRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!

Miyano Aria, 17 years old, 3rd year high school student, woke up from the loud ringing of her alarm clock.

"Hnnnnnmm..." she groaned as she reached out her hand to turn it off.

She got out of her bed and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

After 10 minutes, she got out of the bathroom and changed onto her school uniform which is a pair of a long-sleeved light green blazer with a pink ribbon and a light green skirt. The typical school uniform of Seishun Gakuen.

She looked onto her half-body length mirror in which her hazelnut eyes took a glance on the two photos attached to it. The first photo shows the time when she and Shiraishi graduated in nursery at Himawari and they were standing beside each other with big smiles on their faces. The second photo was taken during the time when Aria won a tennis competition in second year of middle school. Aria, smiling from ear to ear, was holding her golden trophy with Shiraishi beside her smiling as well.

Then she sighed. Aria started liking Shiraishi much more than a friend 5 years ago when they were still in their first year of middle school. That was the time when Aria and her family had to go back to Tokyo. That was also then when she realized her feelings for him.

However, all Aria could remember was how Shiraishi had always treated her like a...younger sister.

She sighed again. She recalled the time when Shiraishi called her this year's summer and told her that he finally confessed to a girl he liked and how they started going out. She could still hear inside her head the happy tone of his voice from the other side of the phone and she could tell that perhaps, her childhood friend had a glimpse of paradise that time.

She could clearly remember that the only words that came out from her mouth were just half-meant words of "Isn't that great? I'm happy for you."

After all that reminiscing, she picked up her schoolbag and went out of her room.

She went downstairs and headed to the kitchen where she saw her mother prepare the breakfast for them.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, okaa-san," she greeted her mother who have the same brown hair and hazelnut eyes as her.

"Ohayo, Aria," her mother greeted back with a smile.

"Where's otou-san?"

"He said something about a company meeting so he left early."

"I see," Aria sat down on the chair at the dining table and started eating her breakfast.

"Oh yes, Christmas is coming soon. What would you like to do?" her mother asked as she sat across Aria.

"Just as we usually do."

"You don't want to go somewhere together?"

"Hmmm...celebrating Christmas at home with the family is enough," she smiled at her mother.

"If you say so," her mother just shrugged.

* * *

While Aria, wearing her white winter coat and a red muffler around her neck, was walking on her way to school, her cellphone rang from inside her bag.

"Yukari-chan?" she uttered as soon as she saw the caller ID. She clicked the answer button and put the phone on her ear. "Moshi moshi?"

"Aria-chan!" a girl's voice cried out from the other side of the phone.

"What's wrong, Yukari-chan?" Aria asked, wondering what might have happened to her.

"Aria-chan, Ku-chan is..."

"What happened to him?" Yukari could tell that she was concerned for him.

"Ku-chan hasn't gone to school for three days."

"Eh? Did something happen? It's not like him to skip school."

"Kenya-kun told me that he got dumped by Mariko."

'Kura-nii,' Aria thought at the back of her mind.

Shinohara Mariko was Shiraishi's ex-girlfriend until three days ago. After Aria saw her at this year's Nationals, the first thing she could describe her was the word 'beautiful'. Aria was mesmerized by how graceful and elegant her movements are. 'A perfect match for Kura-nii', she thought that time.

And Aria...was the opposite of Mariko.

"I got it, Yukari-chan. I'll give him a smack to get him back to his senses," Aria tried her best to sound cheerful when deep inside, knowing how hurt Shiraishi must have been, she can't help but feel the pain as well.

* * *

On the night of 9th of December, Aria told her parents about Shiraishi Kuranosuke's condition and asked permission to go to Osaka the next fday. They allowed Aria to do so since they are close friends with the Shiraishi family. They also knew that their daughter had always like Kuranosuke.

The next day, Aria took the first train heading to Osaka, bringing with her one bag for her clothes and a small leather backpack for other necessities such as pocket money, a small notebook and a pen. She is wearing a pair of blue jeans and long sleeved beige turtle neck with red-white sneakers, along with her white winter coat and red muffler.

Sitting on the train, Aria couldn't stop thinking about Shiraishi Kuranosuke.

'I'll do anything to see you smile again, Kura-nii,' she said to herself.

She took out a small notebook and a pen from her small leather backpack. She listed all the things that she would do with him when she arrives at Osaka.

"Next stop, Osaka. Next stop, Osaka," an intercom voice announced.

"I'm here!" Aria stood up and picked up her bag.

After getting off the train, she headed straight to Shiraishi residence in hope to seeing her beloved Kuranosuke.

"Konnichiwa, oba-san!" she greeted at Mrs. Shiraishi who opened the entrance door for her.

"Oh, Aria! I miss you so much!" Mrs. Shiraishi hugged her.

"I miss you more, oba-san!" Aria hugged back.

After a few seconds of hugging, Aria let go first and tried to peek inside the house.

"Is Kura-nii...?" she tried to ask.

"Kuranosuke is in school right now."

"Eh? Is he...alright?"

"I don't know but his friend Kenya kept nagging him this morning to go to school. He had no choice," Mrs. Shiraishi chuckled a bit.

"I see."

"You can put your luggage inside Yukari's room upstairs. She told me about you coming here."

"Does Kura-nii know?"

"Don't worry, I didn't tell him."

"Arigatou, oba-san!" Aria gave her one last hug and went inside Yukari's room to put her luggage.

"How about you stop calling him 'Kura-nii'? Mrs. Shiraishi suddenly blurted out. She had been aware of Aria's feelings for Kuranosuke.

"You know how Kura-nii treats me like his own younger sister," Aria politely responded and smiled as she dashed off out of the house, wearing the same clothes as she had when she arrived.

"Really, why can't they just be honest already?" Mrs. Shiraishi asked herself.

* * *

So? How..was it?


	2. Part 2

It was already 3 o'clock in the afternoon when Aria set foot inside the Shitenhouji high school's premises. She looked for Shiraishi and headed to the tennis courts since she is sure he would be there.

After a few minutes of walking, she caught a glimpse of a figure's with silvery-brown hair, carrying a tennis bag on his shoulder. Aria instantly knew who it was.

'Kura-nii,' she thought.

The said person was marching to the tennis courts. He then stopped his tracks for a bit and sighed with a long face which Aria took the chance to jump on his back in a piggyback ride while covering his eyes.

"Guess who!" she playfully exclaimed as Shiraishi's body was bent forward due to her weight.

Shiraishi, of course, was surprised. The voice sounded familiar and he recognized the owner at once. He tried to get her off from his back by taking her hands which were covering his eyes. Aria just obeyed him and got down. Shiraishi turned to face her.

"You're letting one happiness escape with each sigh, you know," she said.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just wanted to surprise you," she smiled.

Other regular members of the tennis club like Kenya, Koharu, Yuuji, and Zaizen saw the lightheartening scene from the backgrounds.

"Kura-rin is really so lucky! Having Aria-chin as his childhood friend. Even if you're having a bad day, she could always make you smile at the end. How I wish Yuuji-kun would play with me like that," Koharu stated in a girly manner.

"I am always playing with you, aren't I?" Yuuji complained.

"Hah! Lucky? Yeah, he's so lucky! So lucky that he doesn't even realize it," Kenya commented in a slightly irritated manner.

"Are you jealous, Kenya-senpai?" Zaizen calmly asked.

"O-Of course not! I am just feeling sorry for Aria-chan," Kenya defended himself. "I know that she likes Shiraishi even until now. I am sure that the reason she's here is to cheer him up from his recent break-up with Shinohara."

However, they were not the only ones who saw what's happened. Shinohara Mariko also saw Aria's and Shiraishi's playfulness with each other.

"Let's go, Mariko."

"Yeah," she then exited the scene with her friend.

"Buy me cake later!" Aria demanded to Shiraishi.

"No," he flatly said as he continued striding to the tennis courts.

"Buy me lots of cakes!" she continued poking his back as she follows after him.

"No," this time in a playful manner.

"Yey! He's gonna buy me lots of cakes!" Aria cheerfully raised both of her hands while smiling so wide.

Shiraishi couldn't help himself but chuckle at her childish actions.

 _'She really hasn't changed,'_ he thought.

* * *

After the club activities, Aria and Shiraishi went home together. As they passed by a sweets café, Aria quickly dragged Shiraishi inside.

"I'll have one blueberry cheesecake, one mont blanc, one strawberry shortcake, and orange juice for my drink," Aria ordered to the waitress.

"How about you, sir?" the waitress turned to Shiraishi.

"I'll just have Oolong tea, please."

"What are you saying, Kura-nii? We're in a sweets café. You have to eat sweets," Aria protested. "One blueberry cheesecake for him too," she told the waitress.

"Please wait for awhile," the waitress bowed down and left.

"Hai!" Aria cheerfully exclaimed.

"So..." Shiraishi spoke.

"So?" she slightly tilted her head to the right.

"How long will you stay here?" he asked as he leaned his left elbow on the table and rested his chin on his left hand.

"A week," she simply responded.

 _'That was a lie,'_ she thought to herself. _'I'll stay here as long as I want until you cheer up again.'_

"What about school? I don't think Seigaku is now on winter break. It's still too early for that."

"Seigaku's different from Shitenhouji," she told him as she took a sip on her orange juice that was just served.

 _'Can't he tell that I am here because of him? I am even letting him eat some sweets because I heard that sweets are some kind of antidepressants or so. I'm really going to smack this man down in front of me! Calm down, Aria. You have decided to do this the smooth way, okay?'_

"Okay, if you say so," Shiraishi didn't bother to ask anymore and just looked outside the café with the long face and gloomy eyes.

 _'Again with that face! Stop doing that! I'm really itching here to give you a warm hug right now but I have to be patient,' again Aria was talking to herself in her mind. 'Yes! Patience is a virtue!'_

"So..." she started.

"What?" he asked.

"How are you with Mariko-san?" she blurted out.

 _'Oh no, I said it! Baka Aria!'_ she hit her head a hundred times mentally.

There was a long pause of silence.

"Here's your order," the waitress interrupted the silence as she placed the orders on the table.

"T-thank you," Aria stuttered.

She began digging herself to the cakes she ordered while feeling tense because of the way Shiraishi is gazing at her intently.

"Fo-forget what I said," she nervously laughed. "You eat your cake."

"We broke up a week ago," he began. "She told me that she had found someone else she truly loved."

"I said forget it."

"It's okay. I just feel like saying it right now. And since it's you, I feel very comfortable in confiding this to you."

"Since I am like a younger sister to you?"

He simply chuckled.

 _'That's right, I am just...a younger sister...to him. Nothing more...nothing less.'_

* * *

The next day, Aria went to Shitenhouji high school tennis club again and invited everyone to go yakiniku with her after their club activities.

"Ya-ki-ni-ku! Ya-ki-ni-ku! Yakiniku with everyone!" Kintaro and Aria both chanted in unison.

'First step to cheering Kura-nii up: Yakiniku and karaoke.'

They all went inside a store namely Umiai Yakiniku and ordered the main dish yakiniku.

"Yakiniku is really the best when it comes to cold weathers," Aria commented.

"Really? I think nabe will be more tasty," Kenya remarked.

"The meat's already grilled. Let's eat, everyone," Chitose declared.

Each of them got their own chopsticks and started digging on the yakiniku. There were lots of jokes and laughters between the group; however, Aria couldn't even stop looking at Shiraishi who was sitting across her, just eating his food silently.

And so, Aria thought of an idea to make him at least join their conversations. When Shiraishi was about to pick a meat from the grill with his chopsticks, Aria took it before he could even react and ate it.

"So yummy!" Aria exclaimed as if nothing happened.

"That was supposed to be mine, you know," Shiraishi said.

"First come, first serve," Aria uttered back.

Shiraishi just shrugged it off. He tried to pick another meat when Aria again took it from him.

"You're going to get indigestion," Shiraishi told her.

"I won't," Aria took another meat.

"You're really a big eater."

"What?"

"Come to think of it, you've gotten really fat," Shiraishi teased her.

Aria was a bit surprised by his words but she felt happy inside. Only Shiraishi can tease her like this.

 _'I'm glad he's back to his old self again.'_

"What did you say? I don't want to hear that from you!" Aria pretended to be irritated while munching five meats inside her mouth.

"Kura-rin! You should not tell a girl she's fat!" Koharu joined the conversation.

"It's okay, it's okay! She's not the least a girl anyway! Hahaha!" Shiraishi laughed his stomach out.

 _'That hurt, you moron!'_

"Shut up, you poison freak!"

"Oh yeah! I feel like singing tonight! Let's go to karaoke!" Kenya suggested.

"Count me in! Count me in! I have a really good singing voice!" Kintaro jumped around.

After eating out at yakiniku, they all decided to go to a nearby karaoke.

 _"~Go! Go! Let's go! Get ready! Ai ni yuku yo! Get ready! Riyuu wa iranaiiiii! Get ready! Ganbatteruuu! Get ready! Tokoro ga daisuki saaa~"_ Aria, Kenya, and Kintaro sang in unison while the others except for Shiraishi, Zaizen, and Gin are holding tambourines to liven up the atmosphere.

In the middle of the song, Aria felt something on her chest. She stopped singing and sat down on the sofa across Shiraishi. She took a sip of her lemon juice and kept thumping her chest.

 _'Why do I have to get heartburn at this moment?'_ she whined at the back of her mind.

She coughed a bit and felt sick even more. She excused herself to go to the comfort room.

Shiraishi noticed this and decided to follow her. He heard Aria vomiting inside of one of the cubicles. Being worried, he didn't care if anyone were to see him and got inside the female comfort room. Good thing, Aria left her cubicle door open and there's no one around except for them.

He saw Aria facing the toilet bowl and rubbed her back using his hand.

"You ate too much."

Aria noticed him and decided to speak in the middle of her vomiting.

"Why are you here?" she vomited again after finishing that line.

"I can't just leave you alone especially when you're like this," he responded as he continues to rub her back.

"What if someone sees you?"

"Ignore them. I'll be scolded by Keiko-obahan if I don't take care of you."

 _'There it goes again. Treating me like this.'_

After the yakiniku and karaoke party, everyone went home. Aria together with Shiraishi stopped by a park near the house.

"This place really never changed. I used to play here a lot," Aria commented.

"That's right, even though you always fall down that time and cry like a baby," Shiraishi remarked.

"Hmph!" she pouted.

Shiraishi chuckled at her childishness.

"Let's go home," he turned his back to her and started walking.

"Sure," she caught up and walked beside him.

"Are you feeling okay now?"

"Yep! Super okay! Hihi!"

 _THUMP THUMP_

* * *

Too predictable?


	3. Part 3

KKRIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNG!

Shiraishi Kuranosuke woke up from the loud sound of his alarm clock.

'Today is Sunday, why did my alarm clock go off?' he wondered.

He went out from his room and tiptoed downstairs. He saw Aria on the living room, sitting on the sofa while watching T.V. She was wearing a red shorts with thigh-length black stockings and a white shirt covered with a yellow long-sleeved blazer.

"Oh? You're awake! Ohayo Kura-nii!" she greeted him while smiling from ear to ear.

"Did you set up my clock?" he asked in a slightly irritated voice.

"Oops! I got caught! Hihi!" she grinned.

"Why did you-" he wasn't able to finish his sentence because Aria was pushing him to the bathroom. "Hey!" he got inside and Aria closed the door.

"Better hurry up or we'll miss the fun!"

After taking a bath and changing into a simple blue jeans and green long sleeved shirt, he then got out of his room.

"You're done? Let's go!" Aria dragged him to the entrance door to get their winter coats and mufflers, white coat and red muffler for Aria, then brown coat and yellow muffler for Shiraishi. They then matched their outfits with a brown leather shoes and white sneakers for Aria and Shiraishi, respectively.

* * *

"Why amusement park in winter?" Shiraishi asked when they arrived at the entrance of Happylandia, the only amusement park in Osaka.

"Because it's fun! Let's go!" Aria grabbed his arm and dragged him inside.

They rode different kinds of rides such as roller coaster, ferris wheel, and many others. They also bought foods like popcorns, crepes, and meat buns. As it is winter, there were only a few people which made Aria and Shiraishi enjoy this day as much as they can.

After they had fun in the amusement park, they decided to go home. While on their way, it started to rain suddenly.

"Ah! Why rain in winter? I didn't bring my umbrella!" Aria complained.

"Do you think the rain would choose its season to pour down?" Shiraishi said. He took off his winter coat and cover it over Aria.

"Eh?" she uttered.

"Let's hurry and find some place to take shelter," he stated as he was being drenched in the rain.

They both ran together and ended up in a small temple.

"Aaaah~! Why did it have to rain?" Aria complained again.

"Stop whining there," Shiraishi remarked.

Aria looked at Shiraishi and realized that he was so drenched because of the rain. She took out her hankerchief and wiped it on his face.

"Sorry, you got wet," she apologized.

"It's nothing. At least you didn't," he made the second sentence less audible.

"What did you say? I can't hear you because of the rain."

"I said, it's nothing," he spoke a little louder.

A few moments later, Shiraishi suddenly sneezed.

"Achoo!"

"Oh no! You're gonna catch a cold," Aria looked at him with a worried face.

"Don't worry, this won't kill me."

Aria took off his winter coat and put it on his shoulders.

"I said, you don't have to worry," he took off the coat and put it on Aria instead. As he was putting the coat, the distance between them was so close that Aria can even feel his warm breath on her forehead.

 _THUMP THUMP_

 _'Here it goes again._ '

* * *

The next day, Aria woke up a little earlier and went to the kitchen to help Shiraishi's mom in preparing the breakfast.

"Aria-chan! Could you please wake Kuranosuke up? We're gonna eat breakfast," Mrs. Shiraishi asked her.

"Sure!" she replied. "It's unusual for him to wake up late even if it's winter break."

She went up to Shiraishi's room and knocked for many times but there was no answer. She opened the door which made her wonder why it's not locked since she knows that Shiraishi wouldn't leave or go to sleep without locking the door.

"Kura-nii?" she quietly stepped into his room.

She then heard a cough and found him lying on his bed covered up with a blanket. He got sweat drops on his forehead and his breathing wasn't normal.

"Kura-nii!" she hurriedly ran off to his bedside. "I'm sorry...because of me..."

"It's...really...not your...fault.." Shiraishi said between his coughing.

"It looks really bad," she touched his forehead. "I'll go tell oba-han about this and might as well get a towel and cold water."

She went out of the room and informed Shiraishi's mom about his condition.

"Sorry, Aria. I have something important to do. Could you take care of him for me? I'll be back by this afternoon."

"Don't worry, oba-san. I'll stay here and take care of him."

* * *

Aria went inside Shiraishi's room again with a white towel and a basin of water with ice. She soaked the towel with the cold water, squeezed it, and put it on Shiraishi's forehead.

"I'll go make some rice porridge for you, Kura-nii."

She went down to the kitchen again to prepare the porridge when her phone she left in the living room, rang.

"Moshi moshi?" she answered the call.

 _"Aria! How are you there?"_ the voice on the line greeted.

"Yui! I miss you!" Aria cried out. Her bestfriend.

 _"Oh there! It has just been barely five days since you got there."_

"Well, I don't think I'll be coming back there on the day after tomorrow."

 _"Eh?! What do you mean? Could it be, could it be, could it be that you already confessed to your beloved Kuranosuke?!"_

"Wha-what are you saying? Th-there's no way that would happen!" Aria flustered.

 _"Oh really? Hahaha! It's okay, it's okay! You'll both get over it someday! Hahaha!"_

"Yui!"

 _"Sorry, sorry,"_ she chuckled. _"I was just joking, you know. So, what's the reason why you can't come home?"_

"Kura-nii is sick. Oba-san and Oji-san are both busy and Yukari-chan is out with her friends."

 _"So, you have to take care of him?"_

"Yeah. But if he could recover in a day, maybe I could-"

 _"Just take your time there, sweetie,"_ Yui cut her off. _"It's not everyday that you'll be able to spend time with him. Especially this Christmas. And also I'm not missing you at all so enjoy there!"_

"But..." ' _She's really not honest at all'_ , Aria thought at the back of her mind.

 _"About Shinohara Mariko?"_

Aria kept silent.

Yui sighed on the other line. _"You're really too kind, Aria. If I were you, I would confess to Shiraishi right now and make him my own. Now's the chance!"_

It was Aria's turn to sigh. "It's okay, Yui. As long as Kura-nii is happy, then I am too."

 _"For how long are you gonna stay like that? Anyways, good luck on cheering up Shiraishi."_

Aria smiled. "Arigatou, Yui. Ja ne."

 _"Bye bye!"_

They both hung up and Aria headed back to her rice porridge making.

* * *

After Aria made the porridge, she went back to Shiraishi's room to let him eat and drink his medicine.

"Arigatou, Aria," he uttered.

"It's just natural that I should take care of you, Kura-nii. And also, oba-san told me to stay here with you while she's away. Come on, you've got to rest a lot," she guided him to lie on his bed again and put his blanket over him.

Not so long, Shiraishi fell asleep.

* * *

Since Shiraishi's mom is away for awhile, Aria decided to do all the housechores since they're letting her stay for free.

While cleaning the living room, she stumbled upon a photo album of the family.

"Kura-nii was really so cute," she commented when she looked at a photo during his 5th birthday.

Scanning her eyes, she found the photo during the time when she was still in Osaka, and both she and Shiraishi were making snowman in the middle of winter. She smiled when she remembered how they were playing with snowballs and their mothers scolded them.

After reminiscing, she got back to her work and finished everything before everyone will arrive.

She took the photo album again and brought it to Shiraishi's room wherein the latter was still sleeping soundly on his bed. She sat down on the wooden floor beside his bed and leaned her back onto the edge of it. She started looking at the pictures again.

It was already 4:35 in the afternoon when Aria fell asleep to where she was sitting and leaned back her head on the bed. Waking up, Shiraishi sat up on his bed and found the peacefully sleeping Aria with the photo album on her lap.

He smiled at the sight he was seeing. Whenever he got problems, this girl never failed to be by his side.

He brushed the hazelnut locks out of her face.

Even during the times when he had ignored her because he was busy with Mariko, she still never left him. He was really thankful to have a childhood friend like her by his side.

"Arigatou na, Aria," he whispered.

He got up and took his Shitenhouji jersey jacket that was hanging on the wall and put it over Aria.

* * *

What do you think of this everyone?


	4. Part 4

"How about this, Kura-nii?" Aria asked Shiraishi who was standing beside her while holding a bottle of soy sauce.

"That's unhealthy," he responded. "Choose this instead," he took another bottle with a different brand.

"They are all the same, Kura-nii. And this one's more cheaper so let's go with this," she put the bottle inside the pushing cart.

"You shouldn't have asked for my opinion."

Aria simply smiled. "It's okay, it's okay," she tapped his shoulder three times.

Shiraishi's mom asked them to buy some ingredients for tomorrow's Christmas eve and so, they're now in the supermarket doing their job.

"Next is chicken," Aria stated while looking at the list of ingredients oba-san gave her. "Ah, it's over there! Let's go!"

Shiraishi couldn't help but smile by her cheerfulness and pushed the cart to followed Aria to where she was going.

* * *

After buying the groceries, they decided to go home as the bags were heavy. While waiting for the stoplight with the shape of a person to turn green, Shiraishi invited Aria to hangout on Christmas eve.

 _'Could it be a date?'_ Aria thought.

"It's my thanks to you for taking care of me when I got sick," Shiraishi explained.

 _'That's right, there's no way it would be a date. I'll just think of it as part of my "cheering Kura-nii up" plan.'_

"Sure. When and where should we meet?" Aria faked a smile and asked.

"Hmmm..."

"I forgot to tell you, Kura-nii."

"What is it?"

"I'll be going home at 9 PM on Christmas eve. I want to spend Christmas with okaa-san and otou-san."

"Oh really? Then let's meet at 6 PM, in front of the park near our house. After having some fun, I'll send you off at the train station," Shiraishi said.

"Sure."

When the stoplight for pedestrians turned green, along with other people, they both crossed the road. Upon crossing, they saw Mariko with her two friends from the opposite side. Shiraishi froze in the middle of the pedestrian lane and Aria noticed this as she stopped as well.

"Kuranosuke-kun?" the girl with long black hair named Mariko called out to him as soon as they were facing each other.

"Mari-chan," he uttered.

 _'Shinohara Mariko,'_ Aria thought at the back of her mind.

"Let's go, Mariko. The light's gonna turn red soon," one of Mariko's friends stated.

"Y-yeah," they continued their way and passed by Shiraishi and Aria.

"We have to go too, Kura-nii," Aria spoke.

"Yeah."

Passing by a crowded street, Aria saw a middle-aged man sitting alone beside a wall, holding a guitar. She decided to approach the man and asked if he could play the guitar for her while she will sing. The man agreed to do it for her and started playing the song she requested. (Song: Ganbattatte iin ja nai by Ohara Sakurako)

 _"~Kimi wa ganbatte iru n da ne dakara shinpai nai n da yo boku wa sonna kimi ga daisuki da yo_

Shiraishi was not surprised by what Aria is doing right now. Aria had always love singing ever since she came to this world.

 _"~kimi ga ochikon de iru nara sugu ni ton de iku kara ne donna toki mo ichiban ni yobidashi te hoshii_

During their elementary years, she would always sing to him whenever he was sad or was feeling something wrong. And he bet that it is what she's doing right now for him.

 _"~atama no naka de kangae te iru yori haitacchi mezashi te soku koudou shichao u yo_

If he had not influenced her with his love for tennis, she would have pursued a dream of being a singer.

 _"~onaji sora mi te iru yo chigau gooru oikake te mo dakara motto motto ikeru kamo! hitori ja nai n da_

He was so deep in his thoughts, watching her closely that he didn't even notice the people surrounding the happily singing Aria.

 _"~onaji yumemi te iyo u chigau toki o kizan de mo dakara kitto kitto kanau kamo! ganbattatte ii n ja nai issho ni~"_

He intently stared at her smiling face while she was singing that he was startled when he heard people clapping their hands after Aria's performance.

She looked at him and her heart just went running when his grayish-black eyes met her hazelnut ones.

 _'THUMP THUMP'_


	5. Part 5

**24th December, Christmas Eve. 8:15 in the morning.**

Shiraishi got up from his bed and went down to the kitchen where he saw his mother preparing breakfast for them.

"Ohayo, Kuranosuke," his mom greeted him.

"Ohayo, Ku-chan," her younger sister Yukari also greeted him.

"Ohayo," he greeted back to them. "Where's dad?"

"Still asleep," his mom answered.

He thought that any minute someone would jump on his back but found it weird when there was no one.

"And Aria?" he asked again.

"She said about buying a gift," Yukari replied.

"I see."

* * *

Aria was walking along the grounds of Osaka city, in search for something to give to Shiraishi. She was wearing a white coat with a red muffler and underneath, she wore a light brown long sleeved turtle neck with a sleeveless red knee-length one piece dress covering it. As for footwear, she wore black thighs matched with brown leather shoes.

"What would be a good present to him?", she asked herself while looking at the displays.

"Oh, Aria-chan!" she heard a male voice calling her name.

"Kenya-kun!" she called back as soon as she saw a bleached brown-haired boy in his casual winter clothes, a dark green hooded jacket and blue jeans with matching red sneakers.

"Looking for a present?" Kenya asked.

"Yeah. But seems like I have no luck. I still can't find anything," she complained.

"For Shiraishi?" he blurted out.

"Yea-I mean, no?" she stuttered.

Kenya softly laughed at her reaction.

"You really like him, don't you?"

Aria slightly blushed at his words.

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Who would come to Osaka from Tokyo just to cheer a brokenhearted childhood friend up?"

She kept silent. She was too embarass that even the fetish speed player of Shitenhouji tennis team noticed her actions.

"Anyways, mind for a cup of tea? There's a closeby café that Zaizen told me about," he invited.

"Sure."

While at the café, they talked about so many things such as taste for music, tennis, and of course, about Shiraishi.

"So even a health conscious like him could get a cold? It's a first!" Kenya asked with an amused looked on his face.

"Right? I even took care of him while he was sick on his bed!"

They both laughed together and not so long, Kenya's phone rang.

"This is Kenya," he answered. He paused for awhile to wait for a response. "Shinohara?"

* * *

Shinohara Mariko was lying on her bed. She can't keep still. She missed Shiraishi so much. She saw him yesterday on the road and all she felt was regret and hate. She regretted what she did to him that she's starting to hate herself. It hurt so much that she has to swallow her pride to call Shiraishi's friend Kenya and ask for a favor.

"This is Kenya," he answered on the other line of the phone.

"Oshitari-kun?"

"Shinohara?", she could tell that he was surprised for calling him.

"Oshitari-kun. I...I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"C-could you tell..." she hesitated for awhile but decided to say it. "Could you tell...Kuranosuke-kun that...I want to meet and talk to him this 6 o'clock in the evening?"

 _'6 o'clock? Same meeting time with Aria,'_ Kenya thought at the other side of the phone. Apparently, Aria had told him about her plans with Shiraishi for this Christmas eve.

"That's quite hard..." Kenya stated. Even though when she became Shiraishi's girlfriend, deep inside him, he was rooting for Aria. After all, aside from his teammates, Aria was also there for him when he needed someone when he was down after losing in a tennis match during middle school.

"I beg you, Oshitari-kun. Just for tonight. I really want to talk and apologize to him. I want to tell him that I was wrong and that I still love him. Please, Oshitari-kun, I'm asking you this," her voice sounded like she was so desperate to see him.

"I'll think about it," he said. "I'll call you back later."

He hung up and put his phone back inside his pocket.

"What did she say?" Aria asked him.

He was hesitant to tell Aria about it. After seeing how happy she was talking about what would happen this evening, he can't seem to find courage to say it to her.

"It's okay. Tell me about it. Please," she told him with a determined look.

First, he sighed. He then look at her in the eyes, finding words on how he would tell her.

"She said..." he began…"Shinohara said that she would like to meet Shiraishi this 6 PM," he continued. "The same meeting time as yours," after finally saying that last line, he looked down.

"I see," she simply responded. "Then, Kenya-kun, I also have a favor to ask."

"If you don't like them to meet, I can just tell Shino-"

"Make them meet," she cut him off. "Let's make them meet, Kenya-kun. I think that's the best Christmas gift I could give to Kura-nii."

* * *

One more hour to go before Aria and Shiraishi would meet at the park near their house. Aria grasped her mobile phone tightly on her hands as she tried to dial his dnumber on it.

"Moshi moshi, Kura-nii?" she tried to sound normal.

He answered over the phone. "Oh? Aria? Why call? I thought there's still an hour before we-"

"Kura-nii," she cut him off. "There's something I would like to tell you."

"What is it all of a sudden?" he asked.

"I...I would just like to say that I want to change our meeting place. Could we meet at Shitenhouji high school? I don't think I could make it on time if we meet at the park. I still haven't got one of the presents I need to give."

"Sure. If you say so. Then I might as well prepare now since it would take thirty minutes to be there considering today's crowd."

"Arigatou, Kura-nii."

Aria put down her phone and sighed. She was sitting on the bench at the park where they were supposed to meet. She made up her mind. She was going to give Shiraishi the best Christmas gift she could...even if it meant losing her chance of telling him what she truly feels.

* * *

6 PM. The time has come. Shiraishi is now standing in front of Shitenhouji high school gate, wearing a pair of jeans and a buttoned-up long-sleeved polo with his white sneakers. For his winter garments, he wore a thin jacket over his polo and a brown muffler.

He received a mail from Aria earlier, saying to meet her at the school building's rooftop for awhile. He went inside the school's premises, heading to his destination.

"Why do we have to meet there? She could have just waited there in front of the gate," he mumbled to himself as he strode his way up by the stairs.

He reached the rooftop's door and suddenly, unknowingly to him, his heart started beating faster. He felt confused for a moment and instantly, pulled himself together as he opened the door.

By the time the door was opened, he saw a girl's figure with a long black hair wearing a pink coat, standing behind the railings while staring down at the ground. The girl turned around and Shiraishi could not even describe what he's feeling as of this imoment.

"Mari-chan?" he uttered.

"Kuranosuke-kun."

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I asked for you to come here," she replied.

"Eh?"

"Kuranosuke-kun. Please listen to me. I...Kuranosuke-kun...I was wrong. The truth is, I still love you. I really regretted what I said and did to you that time."

"Mari-chan-"

"Kuranosuke-kun!" she ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Could you...give me another chance?"

 _'THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP'_

* * *

Please, please, please review this story, my dear readers! They will be well appreciated. :)


	6. Part 6

Right at the moment, Aria stood up from where she was sitting and began to walk wherever her feet may lead her. After all...he is not going to come...anymore.

 _'Kura-nii, that's my Christmas present for you. I gave it a lot of thought ever since I came here so I hope you'll appreciate. I wonder if we can be together this year, next year on spring, summer, autumn and winter. But I can't be honest and ask that to you, can I? Well, that doesn't matter anymore. As long as you are happy.'_

She arrived in front of Himawari nursery school's gate. The place where everything started.

 _That was on a summer afternoon in Himawari nursery school, a 4-year old Aria was helping their teacher in watering the sunflowers on their garden._

 _"Aria-chaaan!" a 4-year old Shiraishi Kuranosuke ran to a tiny Aria. "Look! Look! I caught a beetle!" he showed her the beetle that he held so carefully on his tiny hands._

 _"Sugoii, Kura-kun!" Aria looked at the beetle and smiled at him._

 _"Right? From now on, I'm going to take care of it," Shiraishi said._

 _"Then, me too! Let me take care of it, too!" Aria volunteered happily._

 _"Really?! Yay!"_

 _"We should make a name for it!" Aria suggested._

 _"What would be good?"_

 _"Hmmm...how about we take 'ari' from my Aria and 'nosuke' from your Kuranosuke? Arinosuke would sound good," Aria said cheerfully._

 _"Arinosuke, huh? Sounds good! It's like we're making a name for our child!" Shiraishi remarked._

 _Aria suddenly blushed without Shiraishi knowing since he's too busy playing with the beetle. "Eh? Ye-yeah, you're right. Hahaha!" was all Aria could respond at that moment._

"Arinosuke, huh? That sounds really nostalgic," Aria mumbled to herself while staring and reminiscing at the grounds of the nursery where she and Shiraishi used to play a lot.

She looked up at the dark sky. There weren't any stars shining yet she found it beautiful.

"I wish it would snow tonight."

* * *

"Please give me a chance," Mariko once again begged.

For a moment, Shiraishi's feelings was like a roller coaster ride when he felt Mariko's arms around him. He could

not describe it yet at the corner of his mind, it was all crystal clear.

He took off Mariko's hands and looked at her teary tangerine eyes. To be honest, he felt his heart breaking since he doesn't want to see a girl crying especially when it is because of him.

"Gomen na, Mari-chan," he began. "And also, arigatou."

For some reason, he wanted to thank Mariko and because of that, Mariko grew confused by his words and her heart felt more heavier than before. It took a lot of courage for her to beg to Shiraishi like this.

"It's all clear to me now," he continued. "Because of you, because of what you said to me awhile ago, I understood everything. The most important to me right now is..."

* * *

Aria walked around the nursery. Good thing the gate was left open. They probably forgot to lock it or maybe God had planned something for her and made it open.

"This place is really so nostalgic! I should have brought Kura-nii with me here, but I guess I can't anymore," she smiled to herself. A smile that tells herself that she's happy with Shiraishi being together now with Mariko again.

She walked around to the backyard and found the old swing which they used to ride a lot before. She rode on it and calmly swing it back and forth. Once again, memories came flooding her mind.

"I missed this," she remarked. She took out her mobile phone from her pocket and looked at the time. 7:30 PM. An hour and a half minutes left before she leave for Tokyo. After a minute, her phone suddenly shut down. She sighed. The battery died.

 _"~aoi aoi oozora no shita de~"_ she then started singing their nursery graduation song. (Song: Kiiroi Himawari from Kobato.)

* * *

"The number you are calling is currently not available," a female voice over the phone said.

Shiraishi tried to call Aria for more than a hundred times but still, he cannot reach her.

He got on the train jammed with people than usual since there's only a few more hours to go before it's Christmas.

8:00 PM.

'The truth is, I already know whether this is love or not. Even though I'm stubborn and don't admit it, I know for sure that you're the one for me. You who had always cheered me up. You who had always made me smile. You who had always made me laugh and cry at the same time. You who had always stayed by my side.'

He ran to the top of his lungs. Even being a tennis player did not help him because the street was crowded. He arrived at the park where they agreed to meet each other thinking that Aria would still be there. However, she was not there.

He ran back to their house to see if she was still there. He took off his shoes and hanged his muffler on their coat hanger. He found his family in the living room preparing the foods for Christmas.

"Ku-chan? Why are you still here? Weren't you supposed to meet Aria-chan?" Yukari asked him, wondering why Shiraishi was in the house.

"Aria did not come back?" Shiraishi asked back while catching his breath due to the running he did.

"No, I thought-," Yukari answered, but Shiraishi did not let her finish her sentence and dashed out to the entrance and quickly wore his shoes, forgetting his muffler.

* * *

He went to all places where Aria might possibly and still, no sight of her.

'Could she have gone to Tokyo already?' he thought as he looked at his phone seeing the numbers, 9:04 PM.

But then, as a tennis player, he refused to give up now instead he took this as a challenge. A challenge from himself for himself.

The last place that was on his mind was the Himawari nursery school. Though he thought that it is impossible for her to be there, still he went to see it with his own eyes.

When he arrived at the said location, he saw that the gate was open and hurried inside the premises. He looked around the ground but he couldn't find her. His breath turning white in the air because of the coldness as if going to freeze.

Thinking that she had gone to Tokyo already, he decided to go home. While walking, he saw a figure of someone buying a drink from the vending machine.

"Aria?" he uttered.

The figure turned to face him. "Kura-nii..."

"Aria..."

"Want a drink, Kura-nii?" she faced the vending machine and put some coins in.

She ordered two canned hot teas for both of them. They sat down on a bench near the machine. It started to snow.

"Here," Aria handed him the drink.

"Thanks," he took it.

Aria took a sip from her tea. "Ahhh, so warm," her breath going white as she spoke. She looked up at the night sky as the snow rains on them.

"Aria..." Shiraishi looked down on the can of hot tea on his hands.

"What is it, Kura-nii?"

"About Mari-chan...was it your plan?"

Aria stayed in silent. She didn't know what to say.

"Thank you."

Her eyes widened. Shiraishi's words took Aria by surprise though she was a bit confused.

"Did you know, Kura-nii?" she took a deep breath as the carbon dioxide released from her mouth again turned white.

"What is it?" he replied.

She again took a deep breath. The atmosphere between them was making her tense.

"I prayed to God a while ago to make it snow," she paused for a bit. "Maybe that way, I could gain some courage."

"Courage?"

 _'It's now or never!'_

"The courage to tell you that I like you, Kura-nii."

 _'I don't care anymore!'_ she thought.

She turned to look at Shiraishi. His mouth was left open, his eyes staring at the space in front of him. He was speechless.

There was silence between them.

Aria felt awkward. She finally confessed her feelings though she did it without considering about what the opposite would think.

"I-it's getting cold. I-I mean it's cold. We should hurry up and go home. They must be looking for us now," Aria tried to break the silence and awkwardness between them and stood up from her place.

She was about to walk away when she felt something warm around her.

Shiraishi was hugging her from the back. In other words, a back hug. Tee hee! smile emoticon

Aria couldn't believe what was happening right now. "Kura-nii?"

"I..." he began. "I'm sorry if I didn't realize it sooner."

Aria smiled gently. "It's okay, Kura-nii."

"Miyano Aria, I like you too.

Her eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she just heard. Is her mind playing some tricks on her?

"I like you, Aria. I have always liked you ever since you went and moved to Tokyo. There was never a day when I didn't think about you. I was not able to confess to you because I was afraid that our closeness just like now would fade."

"How about Shinohara?" Aria mentally slapped herself for mentioning her name.

"I liked her at first. But...when I faced her earlier, it was like all that I felt for her completely vanished or maybe they were not there from the beginning."

Aria couldn't help but smile. She took off Shiraishi's arms around her and faced him.

"I'm sorry if it took me so long to tell you this," he looked at her in the eyes.

She simply smiled and took off her muffler. She put it around Shiraishi when she realized that he was not wearing any winter garments.

Shiraishi took her hand and pulled her closer to him as he put his lips on her forehead.

"I like you," he hugged her, putting his nose on Aria's hair.

"I like you too, Kura-nii," she hugged him back.

SNIFF SNIFF

"Ah! You're smelling my hair!" Aria playfully told him off.

He simply chuckled and tighten his arms around her more.

 _Though their Christmas ended happily, they know that there will be more challenges up ahead waiting for them._

* * *

Extraaa:

Aria and Shiraishi went to the Shiraishi's residence since Aria was late for the last.

"We're home," Shiraishi called out casually.

"Excuse me for the intrusion," Aria said as if she was not staying there for the whole time.

As soon as they got to the living room, a loud popping noise from party poppers startled them both.

"MEERRRRYYY CHHRIIISTMAAAAS!" all of the Shiraishi family and Aria's parents greeted them happily.

"Okaa-san? Otou-san? Why are you here? I thought you were in—" Aria wanted to ask the reason her parents are here but she was cut off by her mother.

"Well, my dear, don't sweat the small thing," her mom told her with a smile while the others were laughing even Shiraishi as well.

"Really you guys," was all Aria could utter.


End file.
